Hand grip bracket and assembly comprising a hand grip bracket and a head side gas bag module

ABSTRACT

A hand grip bracket for the attachment of a hand grip in the vehicle also serves to hold a head side gas bag module (50). For this purpose, the hand grip bracket has a bow-shaped holder (22) in which the housing (52) of the side gas bag module (50) has been inserted and to which it is attached.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a hand grip bracket for the attachment of ahand grip in a motor vehicle and to an assembly of the bracket accordingto the invention with a head side gas bag module.

Such hand grip brackets are normally provided in the transition areabetween the door and the roof of a motor vehicle and are firmly screwedto the vehicle body, in order to provide an occupant with a firm meansof holding on to a hand grip attached to the bracket. If the vehicle isequipped with a side impact protection device in the form of a head sidegas bag for the head area of the occupant, which device covers the sidewindow of a vehicle, a side gas bag module provided for this purpose islikewise accommodated in the transition area between door and roof alongthe roof frame of the vehicle. Normally, a detent plate bracket servesto hold the side gas bag module. This means that so far two differentcomponents have been provided for the two purposes mentioned, whichinvolves the disadvantages of a high installation expenditure, the costof additional components and the need for additional screw points in thevehicle body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention—in a motor vehicle provided with a side gasbag—is therefore to reduce the number of components for a hand gripbracket and for a detent plate bracket, as well as the labor and cost ofboth manufacture and installation.

The solution of this object is achieved in accordance with the inventionin that, in a hand grip bracket as mentioned above, a holder is providedfor accommodating a side gas bag module. This means that the hithertoseparate detent plate bracket is now integrated into the hand gripbracket. In this way, the above-mentioned disadvantages are avoided, atthe same time achieving a reduction in weight as compared with the useof two separate assembly units. Furthermore, the elimination of oneassembly unit implies advantages as to manufacturing costs andlogistics, i.e. the coordination of the parts supplied for themanufacture of the motor vehicle is simplified.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holder foraccommodating a side gas bag module is formed in one piece with the handgrip bracket, resulting in a further simplification of the manufacturingand installation processes, and a further reduction of the associatedcosts.

In addition, the invention relates to an assembly of a hand grip bracketaccording to the invention and a side gas bag module attached thereto ina form-fitting manner. The side gas bag module has an elongateaccommodation housing with a head gas bag contained therein. Theaccommodation housing is adapted for being attached to the roof frame ofa vehicle via the hand grip bracket.

According to a preferred embodiment, at least one holding means projectsfrom the housing, which holding means penetrates into a correspondingmounting hole in the holder and fixes the housing at the holder.

To facilitate the introduction of the side gas bag module into the handgrip bracket when installing the same in the vehicle, a guideway isprovided in the holder, which guideway accommodates the holding meansand guides the same into the mounting hole when the housing and the handgrip bracket are pushed together. This facilitates the alignment of theparts to create the positive connection. Moreover, a projection may,however, also be provided at the housing, which projection has nothinggot to do with the holding means, but merely protrudes into a guidewayand serves for the alignment of housing and hand grip bracket.

The mounting hole provided in the holder preferably is an oblong holewhich has its maximum dimension in the direction of the longitudinalextent of the housing. Providing an oblong hole has the advantage thathousing and hand grip bracket are still longitudinally movable withincertain limits and tolerances can be compensated.

For a simple fixation, a latching nose may for instance be provided asholding means, which latching nose projects from the outside of thehousing and protrudes into the mounting hole.

Furthermore, a hollow rivet may for instance also be used as holdingmeans, which connects opposing wall portions of the housing with eachother. The hollow rivet itself may, for instance, project laterally andprotrude into the mounting hole in the housing. It is, however, alsopossible that it does not project from the outside of the housing andonly serves as nut for a screw which protrudes from the outside throughthe mounting hole of the holder and is screwed into the hollow rivet.

Further advantageous aspects of the invention can be taken from thesub-claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will subsequently be described with reference to apreferred embodiment which is represented in the attached drawings, inwhich

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a hand grip bracket;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the hand grip bracket;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an assembly according o the inventionwith a hand grip bracket modified with respect to the hand grip bracketshown in FIG. 1, and with a housing as part of the side gas bag module;and

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the mounted assembly along lineIV—IV in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the hand grip bracket 10 is represented, which is madeof an originally rectangular holding plate 12. The holding plate 12 hasa 90° bend which extends in longitudinal direction and divides theholding plate into an attachment section 14 and a holding section 18.The attachment section 14 facing the vehicle inner wall when installed,has screw holes 16 for the attachment of the hand grip bracket 10 to thevehicle body (not shown). The holding section 18 bent towards thevehicle inner side when installed, is provided with two screw holes 20for the attachment of a hand grip (not shown).

In the originally flat holding plate 12, a central area is cut out alongthree sides of a rectangle, the sides being substantially at rightangles to each other. The cutout area is bent towards the inside of thevehicle in an appropriate way to form a holder 22, the fourth side ofthe cutout section forming the connection with the remainder of theholding plate 12. A holder 22 with an arc-shaped cross-section, as shownin FIG. 2, is relatively easy to produce. The holder 22 is provided witha plurality of mounting holes in the form of bent-out sections 24 forthe attachment of the side gas bag module, in which bent-out sectionscorresponding latching noses of the side gas bag module housing canengage. The bent area of the holding plate 12, which serves as holder22, is shaped in such a way as to achieve a form-fitting connection withthe side gas bag module housing. The upper portion of the holding plate12, provided with the screw holes 20 for the attachment of the handgrip, extends so far beyond the side gas bag module holder 22 towardsthe inside of the vehicle that a sufficient distance exists between theinstalled hand grip and the holder 22. Several sections 26, bent outagainst the main bending direction, are provided in the area of thebending region in the holding plate 12, which sections promote thestability of the bent holding plate 12.

Although some material is punched out between the screw points 20 forthe hand grip, and is reshaped to form the holder 22 of the side gas bagmodule, a force absorption of 1 kN, for which conventional hand gripbrackets are designed, is assured. There are so many cutouts 28 in thereshaped material that on the one hand a significant reduction in weightis assured, whilst on the other hand still guaranteeing the strengthrequired for accommodating the side gas bag module.

FIG. 3 illustrates an assembly consisting of the hand grip bracket 10and a side gas bag module 50 to be attached thereto in a form-fittingmanner, of which side gas bag module only an accommodation housing 52 isrepresented in FIG. 3 for simplification reasons. The accommodationhousing 52 is U-shaped (cf. FIG. 4) and has two opposing, almostparallel wall portions 54 as well as a connecting web 56 and a flap 58,which according to FIG. 4 can swivel open in downward direction. In theaccommodation housing 50 a head side gas bag 60 is accommodated, whichcan cover the side window or several side windows of a vehicle in thecase of restraint. In FIGS. 3 and 4 various fastening means are shown,which serve the attachment of the housing 52 to the holder 22. Thesevarious fastening means may be used individually or be combined witheach other as desired.

A first fastening means consists of a holding means in the form of aformed-on latching nose 70 which projects from the outside of thehousing 52. When the housing 52 is inserted into the holder 22 frombelow, this latching nose 70 penetrates into the mounting hole in theform of the bent-out sections 24 and prevents the housing 52 fromfalling out again in downward direction.

A second fastening means consists of a holding means in the form of aspacer sleeve, which is shown in detail in FIG. 4. This spacer sleevemay also constitute a hollow or semi-hollow rivet. The spacer sleeve isdesignated with 82 and connects the opposing wall portions 54 with eachother and in the vicinity of its axial ends has two flanges 84 whichprevent the wall portions 54 from being urged to the outside upondeployment of the side gas bag. The right-hand end of the spacer sleeveshown in FIG. 4 also has a pin-shaped projection projecting to the rightfrom the flange 84 and having a collar 86. Between the flange 84 and thecollar 86 a portion of reduced cross-section is obtained, whichapproximately corresponds to the cross-section of the shank 88connecting the flanges 84 with each other. The pin-shaped projectionwith the collar 86 laterally projects from the housing 52. When upwardlyinserting the housing 52 into the holder 22 in the direction of thearrow, the pin-shaped projection with the collar 86 gets into a guideway90 provided at the holder, which guideway is formed by bending theholder to the outside. Via the guideway 90, the collar 86 is guided intothe adjoining mounting hole 124 in the form of a keyhole opening. Theright-hand portion of the keyhole opening is slightly larger. In thisportion, the collar 86 can be introduced into the mounting hole andsubsequently be moved to the left into the portion of the keyholeopening of reduced height. The holder 22 then lies between the flange 84and the collar 86, as can be seen in FIG. 4. In this case, thepin-shaped projection with the collar 86 also serves as holding means.

A third fastening means consists of a hollow rivet 94 which connects theopposing wall portions 54 with each other, as is shown in FIG. 3 withreference to the spacer sleeve. The hollow rivet likewise has flangescorresponding to the flanges 84. It does, however, not have pin-shapedprojection with collar 86. Thus, the hollow rivet does not or onlyhardly project from the outside of the housing 52. When inserting thehousing 52 into the holder 22, the hollow rivet comes to lie at thelevel of an oblong hole 224, the oblong hole 224 having its maximumdimension in longitudinal direction of the elongate housing 52. Aself-tapping or self-grooving screw 96 is screwed from the outsidethrough the oblong hole 224, which serves as mounting hole, into thehollow rivet 94, which serves as nut.

In the interior of the housing 52 there is also provided a gas conduitlance 100 above the hollow rivet 94 and the spacer sleeve 82, throughwhich lance gas flows into the interior of the head side gas bag. Assoon as the side gas bag is inflated, the flap 58 swivels downwards andclears the way for the deployment of the side gas bag 60.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hand grip bracket having a hand grip attachmentin a motor vehicle, characterized in that said bracket further includesa side gas bag module holder (22).
 2. The hand grip bracket (10) asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the holder (22) for the sidegas bag module is formed in one piece with the hand grip bracket (10).3. The hand grip bracket (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the hand grip bracket (10) is made of sheet metal.
 4. The hand gripbracket as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the hand gripbracket (10) is made of a holding plate (12) with a 90° bend, aplurality of sections (24) bent out against a main bending directionbeing provided in an area of a bending region.
 5. The hand grip bracket(10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the holder (22) hasmounting holes in the form of bent-out sections (24).
 6. The hand gripbracket (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that recesses (28)have been punched into the holder (22).
 7. The hand grip bracket asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the holder (22), as seen in across-section perpendicular to a bending edge of a holding plate (12),extends in a shape of an arc.
 8. The hand grip bracket (10) as claimedin claim 1, characterized in that the holder (22) extends towards theinside of the vehicle.
 9. An assembly of a hand grip bracket (10) asclaimed in claim 1 and a side gas bag module (50) attached thereto in aform-fitting manner, which side gas bag module has an elongateaccommodation housing (52) with a head side gas bag (60) containedtherein, and the accommodation housing (52) is adapted for beingattached to the roof frame of a vehicle via the hand grip bracket (10).10. The assembly as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that at leastone holding means projects from the housing (52), which holding meanspenetrates into a corresponding mounting hole (24; 124) and fixes thehousing (52) at the holder (22).
 11. The assembly as claimed in claim10, characterized in that the holding means is a latching nose (70)projecting from the outside of the housing (52).
 12. The assembly asclaimed in claim 10, characterized in that in the holder (22) a guideway(90) is provided, which accommodates a holding means laterallyprojecting from the housing (52) and guides the same into a mountinghole (124) in the holder (22) when the housing (52) and the hand gripbracket (10) are pushed together.
 13. The assembly as claimed in claim9, characterized in that a mounting hole (224) in the holder (22)constitutes an oblong hole which has its maximum dimension in adirection of a longitudinal extent of the housing (52).
 14. The assemblyas claimed in claim 9, characterized in that a holding means is providedwhich connects opposing wall portions (54) of the housing (52) with eachother and constitutes a hollow rivet (94) or spacer sleeve (82).
 15. Theassembly as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the holding meansis a hollow rivet (94) and the holder (22) is connected with the housing(52) via a screw (96) which has been screwed into the hollow rivet (94).16. Apparatus comprising: a bracket having structure for attachment ofthe bracket to a vehicle; said bracket having a hand grip attachment forattaching a hand grip to said bracket; and said bracket having an airbag module attachment for attaching an air bag module to said bracket.